Chapter 263: Inducement

Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Inducement

Inside the detention center.

Vivian Lowell met with Rachel Faulkner.

Having not seen her for several months, Rachel Faulkner looked much more haggard than before. She had lost a lot of weight, the flesh on her face had all but disappeared, and her high cheekbones made her look even more severe.

She sat across from Vivian Lowell, separated by a pane of reinforced glass. They could communicate using the telephone receivers on the side.

However...

Vivian Lowell quickly discovered that Rachel Faulkner had no intention of communicating with her. After sitting down, she just stared quietly at Vivian, her gaze cold.

Vivian pointed to the phone receiver, signaling for Rachel to pick up. A guard on Rachel’s side also seemed to say something to her.

Rachel was a little impatient, but she had no other choice, so she finally picked up the phone.

Seeing that Rachel was at least cooperating, Vivian Lowell let out a sigh of relief and said, "Rachel Faulkner, I came to see you today to tell you something."

"Julian and I already know that Lawyer Donovan went to the Faulkner Family to plead with Grandmother. And because of that, Lawyer Donovan has also been put in a detention center."

"Julian Faulkner has also informed the entire legal community that no one is to take your case. Now, even with Felix Faulkner helping you, you’re completely out of options."

"The second trial will definitely uphold the original verdict. You’re going to die."

Vivian’s words finally struck Rachel Faulkner like a heavy blow. Rachel shot to her feet and pounded on the reinforced glass, her emotions running high.

She screamed into the phone, "You bitch! You just want to see me utterly destroyed, don’t you? Let me tell you, you won’t get away with this! You won’t!"

Vivian Lowell remained perfectly calm.

Holding the receiver, she looked at the frantic Rachel Faulkner before her and said coolly, "’I won’t get away with this?’ Why do you think that? Do you think Felix Faulkner is going to avenge you?"

"But what good would that do? Since Felix Faulkner returned to the country, have you seen him accomplish a single thing? It doesn’t seem like it. If he’s this useless, how could he possibly help you?"

"Besides—you did so much for Felix Faulkner, but when it all blew up, he abandoned you without a second thought. The one who never cared about you from the very beginning was him, not me and Julian Faulkner."

"..."

Rachel Faulkner fell silent. Her eyes were bloodshot as she continued to stare at Vivian Lowell, filled with bitter resentment.

But Vivian had hit the nail on the head. Rachel had considered these things before, but she had no one else to rely on.

Felix Faulkner was her last hope!

’If even that last hope is gone, what else can I do?’

Slowly, Rachel Faulkner slumped back into her chair. She clutched the phone tightly, seeming to have calmed down, and asked, "Vivian Lowell."

"What did you really come here to say?"

Vivian was a little surprised. Rachel was always so impulsive, a bully who assumed her foreign ways would work back home. But now, she was actually capable of calming down to think rationally?

Vivian smiled faintly. "I’m here to give you a chance to live. How about it? Do you want to hear it?"

"A chance to live?!" ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Rachel sucked in a sharp breath, then let out a cold, mocking laugh. "You think I’d believe you? I’m in this mess because of you! And you want to keep me alive?"

"It’s because there’s someone else behind all this."

Vivian feigned helplessness. "I know that in this whole affair, you were just doing Felix Faulkner’s dirty work. He washed his hands of it completely and left you to be the scapegoat."

"It’s not fair, is it? He made mistakes too, so why should you be the only one to take the fall?"

"Julian and I have discussed it. Leaving Felix Faulkner around is a liability, so we want to get rid of him. And for that, we need your help."

"Legally speaking, for a death row inmate like you, besides getting a letter of forgiveness from the victim, there’s actually another way to get your sentence reduced."

"And that is to become a tainted witness. You testify against Felix Faulkner, tell the judge he made you do everything, and naturally, your crime won’t be considered as severe."

"Who knows? After the court arrests Felix Faulkner, he might be the one getting the death penalty. And you? You might just get life in prison."

"And life in prison here isn’t like in other countries where they can sentence you for hundreds of years. Usually, you can get out in twenty or thirty years. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope, right?"

"But if you’re dead, you have nothing."

Vivian Lowell had prepared this speech long in advance.

From the moment Rachel Faulkner was arrested, she must have held onto some hope at first. But from the time she was sentenced to death until now, she had tried many different things.

However, none of them worked. She was in despair, which was why she refused to speak to Vivian Lowell when she first arrived!

The two of them were silent for a long time.

Finally, Rachel Faulkner asked, "Why should I believe you?"

"Because you have no other choice."

Vivian was perfectly composed, even showing the faint hint of a smile. "Besides, if I’m not mistaken, Lawyer Donovan never once mentioned the possibility of becoming a tainted witness, did he?"

"You see? Even Lawyer Donovan, the only one helping you, ended up like this. Can you still count on Felix Faulkner? Felix only told you Lawyer Donovan was helping you to keep you quiet and prevent you from exposing him."

"In reality, it was all just for show."

Rachel still didn’t say a word.

Vivian watched Rachel’s flickering gaze and knew she didn’t completely believe her yet.

But that didn’t matter.

Vivian knew Rachel well. Rachel was an extremely selfish person. Once she understood the reality of her situation and knew she had no other choice, she would definitely betray Felix Faulkner.

Rachel would do anything to survive!

"You have five minutes left."

After waiting for a long time, Vivian glanced at her phone, let out a bored yawn, and said, "My visit with you today is only for one hour."

"If I don’t get a definitive answer from you within this hour, I’m leaving. And you will stay here, waiting for the verdict of your second trial!"

"If you don’t help me, I can find other ways to deal with Felix Faulkner. Of course, none of that will have anything to do with you, a dead woman walking."

Vivian had given her ultimatum!

Vivian had options; Rachel had none. This wasn’t Vivian begging for Rachel’s help, but Rachel needing to seize this opportunity for herself!

With that said, Vivian made a show of hanging up the phone.

But from the other end of the line, Rachel’s voice immediately came through.

"I’ll do it! I’ll become a tainted witness! But... I don’t have any evidence right now."